Research: 2012 Enterprise Project Management

Technology projects can make or break a business, so the way you organize and execute on them is a big deal. Our InformationWeek 2012 Enterprise Project Management Survey of 508 business technology professionals shows that, as you might expect for a complex subject, there's no project management silver bullet. Perhaps most importantly, organizations cannot expect the project management office--with a budget of less than 2% of total IT spending--to run everything. IT staffs must lend a hand and, more importantly than fancy project management certifications, have the soft skills to do so.

"Whole-business thinking" must start to permeate business technology projects, and executives must get on board as well. The idea that all projects must succeed has to go away, replaced by the lean ideal of "fail fast"--that is, before large investments are made. Project managers need to continue to engage in their controlling activities, but be more mindful of the linkage to the business, and use success metrics that measure business success, not mere utilization or adoption.

Technology projects that are going to positively influence your business are also very likely to meet resistance from your employees. And that's a problem, because, while your initiative may succeed in the short run, you can bet your bottom dollar that it won’t thrive long term if employees' hearts and minds haven't been won. Organizational change management may be new to your project management office, but it's a critical component. In this report, we discuss how to run projects in a nimble manner, including a rundown of the lean model. (R3580112)

Survey Name InformationWeek 2012 Enterprise Project Management SurveySurvey Date September 2011Region North AmericaNumber of Respondents 508Purpose To determine the role of project management programs in the enterpriseMethodologyInformationWeek surveyed business technology decision-makers at North American companies. The survey was conducted online, and respondents were ­recruited via an email invitation containing an embedded link to the survey. The email ­invitation was sent to qualified InformationWeek subscribers.